Better Than You Think
by Mida Swithpie
Summary: There are three things Apollo can do that not even he knows he's good at! (Obvious Klavier x Apollo within)
1. Lying

Trucy wasn't having the best day.

It started off with not being able to greet Apollo and Athena in the morning. She was so excited to be able to finally get to know the new member of her family, and even though she didn't know Athena well yet, she adored Apollo's company. He and his awkward mother henning always kept her out of trouble, and she couldn't be more grateful for it. So it was even more annoying when she boarded the bus at seven in the morning, the sun just barely waking up itself, and she had to watch as Apollo and Athena entered the building while she had to drive off in the opposite direction.

When she had finally gotten to school, her teachers one after another had begun to ride her case about her absences and her hoards of missing work. She had been ignored when she tried to explain that she was helping her father and his new recruits with work.

"They're newbies, they need _someone_ to be there for them. It wouldn't be right to leave them hanging."

None of them believed her, and some of them had even gone so far as to accuse her of lying.

Then, her final period teacher had given her a progress report. She was told that she needed to bring it home and have her father sign it with his phone number and a good date for a meeting. When she had tried to explain that her father was a very busy person, having just re earned his attorney's badge, they told her that she had better find a way to get him to make time, or she had better bring in another guardian. Then they threatened to have her repeat the grade if she doesn't bring back the report the next day.

So here she was now, pacing in front of the couches, thinking of different ways to solve her problem.

Possibility One. She could come out and tell the truth to her father. He would indefinitely be angry, the stickler for grades that he is. Not her biggest eyes nor her sweetest _Daddy~_ would save her from her long, straight column of red F's. Especially since it's happened twice in a row. He would ground her for a year -no two!- and take away all of her magic supplies. It wasn't like her magic shows were needed anymore, they had enough cases coming in to give them enough money and a little extra, so she couldn't tell him that her magic was needed.

Possibility Two. She could hide the report. She could skip school for a while and just go through her next high school career with ease, maybe even use her father's forgetful nature to convince him that her late graduation is actually what it is meant to be. But that idea wouldn't work either. Her father was forgetful, but he was observant. She also knew that if her father noticed her lack of homework, then Apollo would notice too. Then she would have her father _and_ Apollo on her case. She knew she couldn't lie to either of them. Her father with his magatama and skillful questions beside Apollo with his all seeing eyes and stare of pure steel would break her.

Possibility Three. She could forge her father's signature. Thinking about it, though, made her realize that her father's signature, while very pretty, was also very complicated and swirly. She was no master forger, and for her to try and copy it would take days of heavy concentration. It would've been easier for her to make up a signature before she could get one letter of his.

That was her Possibility Four. She could make up a cute little signature and hand it in with them being none the wiser. But they wanted a meeting, and a phone number. She couldn't make up either of those, no matter how powerful a magician she was. They'd also be expecting to meet _an adult_, she couldn't show up on her own. They'd be expecting someone like her father, or her brother…

Her mom.

Trucy blinked a few times, her mouth splitting into a wide grin. She could get Thalassa to do it! She reached for her bag quickly, pulling out her cellphone. Suddenly, she paused. Sure, Thalassa was her mother, but she was also Apollo's mother. Surely Thalassa would mention to Apollo, and Apollo would mention it innocently to her father. And even if he didn't mention it, her father would figure out something was up and use his magatama on Apollo or herself, or even on Thalassa, pressuring them to tell him what was going on. She knew that she would get in trouble if that were to happen. In a snit, she threw her phone onto the couch with a dull bounce and thud.

"Something wrong, Truce?"

Trucy jumped at the sound of Apollo's voice. She turned quickly and was met with the sight of her half brother holding a cardboard tray of four coffees; two iced, two hot. She rushed over to him, squealing in delight at both his presence and the coffee, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He smiled in return, laying his arm over her shoulders as he pulled an iced cup from the tray sitting atop his desk. When she pulled back he handed it to her, taking one of the hot cups before sipping at it.

"You wanna answer my question or…"

"Such a one track mind, Polly!" She smiled and giggled, trying to steer him away from the path leading to her progress report. "What makes you think that anything's wrong?"

Before she had even finished her statement, she knew she had said the wrong thing. She cursed herself as he narrowed his eyes at her, and crossed his arms over his chest, his coffee cup safely sitting atop his desk.

"Trucy, what did you do?" His voice was stern and she knew that if she were to lie now, Apollo's bracelet would pick it up immediately.

She dropped her head and dragged her feet over to the couch, reaching into her bag. She pulled the green sheet of paper out of it's folder and held it out to him dejectedly. He took it and scanned it over, raising an eyebrow and glancing back up at her. She dropped her head even further in shame.

"I'm sorry Polly." She pulled her hands behind her back.

"You said you had your school work under control, Trucy! What happened?"

"Well…" She glanced up and met eyes with Apollo. "I was so caught up in helping you guys that I may have… _skipped_ a few days of school to sort through your files and do my own investigating."

"Trucy!" She watched him lift the paper up once again. "You can't be serious."

"A-And then I helped you in court!" She added quickly, trying to remind him of all the good she's done. "But then Athena showed up took my place as your helper, and I had reconnected with Jinxie, so I spent some time with her. I even visited Maya and Pearl for a few weeks before Daddy told me to go back to school. That's when…"

"That's when we started asking about school work."

"Yeah! But when I finally did return, I had a lot stacked up, so I pushed it aside. Time got away from me and I-"

"Didn't do it."

"Yeah! That's why my teacher gave me this progress report. They said that I had to have Daddy sign it or-"

"You'd have to repeat the grade."

"Yeah! Wow, Polly. You're really good at this."

He sighed and slightly shook his head, folding the sheet of paper and placing it within his breast pocket. She panicked, pulling at his sleeve. "Polly, please don't tell Daddy!"

"He has to know, Trucy, and I know you don't plan on showing him yourself." He replied softly. "As your older brother it's my responsibility."

"But he's gonna take away my magic!" She felt herself tear up and she couldn't keep herself from sniffling. She didn't want to cry, not over something like this. Last time she cried, it was _for_ Apollo while he was in the hospital, and that was months ago. This shouldn't be worth it.

"Oh, Trucy…" Apollo whimpered, placing a soothing hand on her head. "Stop it."

Trucy suddenly felt worse, knowing that Apollo couldn't handle situations like this outside of court. She tried to choke back sobs as he wiped at her cheeks.

"I'm sure Mr. Wright won't be that drastic, he's a bit of a pushover."

"With you! But he's anal about school, Polly, and with these grades, everything's gonna be taken away! I'm gonna be grounded for years!" She threw her arms around Apollo's waist and buried her face into his chest. Apollo blanched and gently pushed her off, using his thumbs to dry her cheeks. She sniffled and hiccuped, trying to stop herself from sobbing once again. She watched through blurry eyes as he pulled a pen from a mug on his desk and unfolded the report, signing a signature across the dotted line.

"Polly?" She blinked her watery eyes as he held the sheet out to her.

"This is just a progress report, right?" He threw the pen back into it's mug. "I won't tell Mr. Wright."

Her breath caught in her throat. "Really?"

"Yeah, I won't tell him." She let out a breathy giggle. "_But_, you _have_ to show him the report card. Whatever the grades are, whether they be A's or F's, are at the mercy of Mr. Wright. I'll go to the meetings as your older brother, too."

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She smiled, throwing a sloppy kiss onto his cheek before rushing off toward her bedroom, making sure to lift her bag with her. She managed to slip into her room just as her father had entered the office. She slid the report back into her bag and and released a breathe of relief, but it seemed that no matter what, she couldn't stop her sniffling.

Apollo had kept his side of the deal, arriving at the office just before Trucy could board the bus. Together they walked, Trucy actually enjoying the quietness of the city during the early morning. She enjoyed it even more when they arrived at the school and one by one Apollo met his teachers and smoothed his way through each interaction.

"You're her older brother? I can see the similarity."

"Why couldn't her father be here?"

"How old are you? Maybe we could… meet up sometime?"

She could only be filled with awe as he easily snuffed them off of her trail. Usually her brother was so awkward, stuttering and blushing and just being fun to mess with. So now, watching him so calmly ease his teachers was something that confused her, but it was something that she wouldn't question. Once he had seen her last teacher they parted ways.

"I'll come pick you up and we can walk back to the office together. Cool?"

"Mhm, see ya later, Polly!"

When they finally made it back, she couldn't help but feel giddy a she threw herself down on one of the two red leather couches. She turned to Apollo who had taken a seat beside her and pulled on her brightest, most genuine smile.

"Thank you for helping me today, Polly. I'm am truly grateful for what you did for me."

"No problem, Truce. You had me with the tears, I can't handle crying, let alone my sister crying."

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned against him and hummed at his hand patting her back.

"D'awww~!" Both of them looked up at the intruder; Athena and her widget glowing bright green as she gushed. Behind her was Trucy's father, pulling at his tie. "Such sibling love! You're so lucky, Trucy! I've always wanted a sibling."

Trucy tittered as her father slumped across from her and Apollo.

"Hey Apollo, Trucy. How've your days been?"

"I would say mine has been pretty good." Apollo responded. Trucy nodded in agreement.

"What'd you guys do today?"

Trucy felt chills run up her spine. This was it, there was no way she could say anything without the Psyche Locks reacting. Her father would drill questions until he figured out what happened.

"I walked Trucy to school and then I spent the day with Klavier." Trucy stared hard and confused at Apollo's smug smile. Would he actually make it through this?

"Spending time with the hubby, huh?" Phoenix teased, quirking his eyebrows.

"He's not my 'hubby', Mr. Wright." Apollo blushed, crossing his arms over his chest.

_Huh?_

"Good, hopefully he never will be."

_Wha-?_

As her father turned to grab a book from the box used as shelf, she stared wide eyed at Apollo who only winked at her. She bubbled into light nervous laughter just as her father returned to his normal position, flipping through the pages of his law textbook.

"Oh, come on, Polly! You guys are already engaged, and Klavier's so excited for the wedding." Trucy cooed.

For the rest of that day, she spent time with her little rag-tag family, helping Athena break into the atmosphere and encouraging the redhead to tease her brother before excusing herself as she hugged her bookbag to her chest. When she glanced back at Apollo, she caught his nod and smile and returned the action, slipping into her bedroom. She sat atop her mattress and stared down at her bag in her lap, thinking about Apollo's actions and her father's lack of reaction. She then pulled her folder out of her bag and laid down, prepared to do homework before going to sleep.

"I've got to get Polly to teach me how to do that."

* * *

**Author's Note:** **I'm glad I could finally get back to this. It's been a long time. I hope you guys enjoyed the rewrite, please be sure to review, and again **_**do not**_ **hesitate to give some constructive criticism. I'd prefer that someone tell me my writing is a little janked than to keep going as if nothing's wrong.**

**Ja matane****!**

_**Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction from the Ace Attorney series. I do not claim ownership over the characters or the world used. The story I tell here about Ace Attorney is my own invention and it is not purported or believed to be part of the Ace Attorney story canon. This story is for entertainment only and is not apart of the official story line. I am grateful to the Ace Attorney series, for if it did not exist I would not have been able to write this story.**_


	2. Stealing

Apollo was engaged.

Athena took note that even though he was, he still had a very large fanclub of people. There were five very distinct members that she saw very often.

The first was a very cute little foreign boy that goes by the name of Machi Tobaye. He was short, kind and delicate, with little blonde curls and big blue eyes. He usually came by to visit with a woman named Thalassa, someone Athena had learned was Trucy's _and_ Apollo's mother. Machi had greeted her with a bright smile and a dainty handshake, one she had returned heartily and excitedly. Though, before she had actually managed to start a conversation with him, Apollo had arrived. She had watched him go running faster than she's ever seen anyone go before.

She watched as his eyes gleamed in joy as he spoke quickly in the heavy accent that only Apollo could understand. It was a look she couldn't mistake. Machi had a crush on Apollo.

Athena suddenly found herself giddy, only to be egged on by Trucy telling her the story of their friendship.

"Apollo was the only one who could convince Machi to tell the truth in court. If it weren't for him, Machi would be in Borginia facing heavy charges."

Athena had wished she could see the moment Machi had fallen for her coworker, she could only imagine the look of captivation on Machi's face when Apollo got him the 'Not Guilty' verdict. As far as Athena knew, however, that case didn't have a tape.

The second was much more annoying in her opinion, though she was grateful he came by less often. His name was Wocky Kitaki, a very obvious thug muffin. His hair was greased up obnoxiously, his clothing was bright and flashy and his voice sounded as if it were stuck in between child and man. He was like a human peacock. At least, in Athena's eyes.

The day they had met, she had been helping Apollo help Trucy with her magic. He had come 'swaggering' in, as he so called it, though to her, he looked like he was just holding in the need for a serious bathroom break. She had immediately offered him a bathroom and in return he had been offended.

"Yo ah don' need ta use no baf room!" Wocky had squawked.

"You sure, Wocky? You seemed a little... restrained over there." Apollo responded distractedly, holding Trucy's cape.

Athena couldn't help but laugh as Wocky flushed and scratched at the back of his neck. She had laughed hard enough to earn her the need for a drink. She had only stepped aside for a moment when Wocky had slid into her place beside Apollo. She watched with a raised eyebrow as Wocky inched closer to Apollo, soon standing directly behind him and peering over his shoulder, his ears red.

Athena just barely caught Trucy's wink before the young magician had spun quickly in a circle knocking Apollo off balance and into the startled arms of Wocky, pushing them both down onto the couch. Apollo had stood first, a little more than frustrated as he fixed his slightly rumpled clothing. He then turned and quickly apologized to Wocky, who was dazed, flushed and flustered, most likely relishing in the few moments of Apollo in his lap.

When Athena had walked him to the door, she couldn't help but tease him a little.

"Come back any time, Wocky. I'm sure Apollo loves your company, he was just a little busy today."

"Yo, ah will. Apollo iz one o' da most fine peoples ah gots ever met." He paused and broke eye contact with her, staring wistfully down at the sidewalk as he slowly 'swaggered' away. "Maybe one day…"

Athena suddenly felt very protective of Apollo as she rushed back to the office.

The third was one of Athena's very best and long old friends. Simon Blackquill didn't necessarily flaunt his interest like Machi or Wocky, but Athena could see the little hints.

She had seen the first hint during a little celebration. The case hadn't had been huge, but no matter how big, they had found the truth once again. This case had been number twenty in a straight row. Gaspen Payne could no longer even hold a candle to her and Apollo's victories.

When they had made it back to the office, Athena had proposed a party. Before Apollo could object, Trucy had already begun to mass call a bunch of old friends that Athena had yet to meet. After a few hours of lazy decorating and waiting, the office was still very much empty.

Thalassa had arrived with little Machi clinging to her side before he had caught sight of her red clad co worker. Wocky had arrived, but not under the pretense of an invite, and very soon after his arrival was a very familiar blonde face. Athena watched as they crowded Apollo and had to hold back her amusement at how oblivious he was to their amorous stares. Then Simon had walked through the door with Taka on his shoulder. Trucy had led him to Athena's people watching spot. They shared a quick greeting with Athena pointing out the little group of men, and they enjoyed their moment of silence for a bit.

Athena had gotten bored, but as she turned to finally get a chance to reconnect with Simon, she had noticed that he was still very much absorbed in watching Apollo speak. His face was one of pure blank bliss and she found herself listening closely, hoping to catch a little stray feeling. She was caught before she could find one, tittering loudly as Simon raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is something funny?"

"No. Not at all." She beamed into her cup.

"You're a terrible liar, Athena. Justice-dono would be appalled."

"Strange how you mention Apollo at a time like this." She overexaggerated, leaning back in her seat.

"Are you implying something?" Simon finally turned to her, his face more confused than she's ever seen before. She could hear it though, he was hiding _something_. And she knew what.

"Maybe I am." She stood and placed her cup down. She glanced toward where Trucy sat beside Phoenix and Thalassa. "Maybe I'm not. I'm gonna go sit with Trucy for a little while. Mingle with the boys, I'm sure Apollo would love to introduce you to his fiancé."

"Fiancé?"

Slam Run! Touch Dunk! Home Goal! Sports lingo she didn't know -she _knew_ he was interested now. She nodded in response and watched closely as he sauntered over to the little group, quick to be invited to speak by Apollo. She made her own way over to Trucy who smirked slyly, also watching the interaction. They sat together, allowing Thalassa and Phoenix time for their own 'grown-up' conversation.

"Simon's crushing on Polly?"

"Not quite crushing, but there's definitely a spark there. I wanted to hear his thoughts. I got caught though."

For the rest of the night Athena and Trucy watched the interaction. Athena could tell that now Simon would be coming over much more often.

The fourth wasn't necessarily in love with Apollo, but cares very deeply for him.

Phoenix was her boss, yet very kind, so she would never tease him for the the overprotection of his daughter. At least, not to his face. She couldn't help, however, but tease his father complex over Apollo. It didn't matter how much Phoenix would pout at her, she couldn't help but feel like he was being a little ridiculous whenever he would fluff his own hen feathers out at Apollo who would push him away almost immediately, if not before he could even start. She always stopped herself whenever Apollo was around. She didn't want to be scolded by the true mother hen.

When she first caught true sight of his fatherly affection, she had walked into the office expecting to prepare for the case she was meant to work on with Phoenix. Instead she was met with Apollo swatting a laughing blonde man away from his desk and Phoenix's feelings running wild through the air. Before she could question what was happening, Phoenix was already pushing the blonde german out the door, ignoring his accented goodbyes and laughter. She didn't think it was possible to laugh with an accent.

She decided to leave Phoenix to the man before approaching him with questions, instead taking a seat on one of the couches as Apollo hovered above Trucy scolding her about homework. The magician had rushed off toward her bedroom, grinning widely. She winked at Athena as Phoenix sat down beside her, his feelings overriding her thought process as he began to sort through folders.

"Apollo couldn't have picked a better boyfriend?" His thoughts growled angrily as he tossed papers about the coffee table. "Stupid perv! Always has to touch -he needs to back off my Polly. I don't want to lose my only son to some sparkly, orange, glimmerous… _fop_! He's one of my only treasures."

She stopped listening as his thoughts trailed off, following him to the bathroom. She simpered at Apollo who returned her gaze curiously from his desk.

"What's with that look?"

"Daddy doesn't approve of the _hubby_."

She burst out into pure joy as Apollo flushed and buried his face in his hands, almost face planting onto his desk as Phoenix returned. She held her stomach and lurched onto her side as Phoenix furrowed his brows at Apollo's sudden agitation.

She learned that day that parents could have little crushes on their children. Cute, platonic crushes that can make daddys burn with jealousy. The only thing that kept her laughing was one little glitch in the system.

"I-I've heard of a daddy and his little girl!" She gasped, rolling herself onto the floor. "But th-this would be the first time I've **ever** seen a daddy and his baby boy!"

Apollo would never agree.

"Dammit, Athena! He's not my father!"

The fifth, though Athena was sure he wasn't the last, member of the fanclub was the magical, not so mythical fiancé that Athena had only ever heard of. That is, until she finally got a chance to get a good look. Klavier Gavin used to be the rock star that Juniper would send her letters about the first year she had left for Europe. She would love how excited her friend would get each time she would send a song. She had even met him on a case once, when trying to prove Juniper innocent.

Now, she wasn't his biggest fan, but she stilled enjoyed his music. That didn't stop her from being starstruck when he had waltzed in, glowing. Trucy had been telling her all about their previous adventures, procrastinating on her dreaded homework, something Athena understood all too well. It was as if he had appeared out of thin air. Trucy had thrown herself onto his body, hugging and talking at him from almost every direction while Phoenix slumped into his spot on the couch, pulling his beanie down in his forehead. Then he had turned to her.

"Hallo. You are Athena, ja?" She melted into the accent, different dialects being her _very guilty_ pleasure.

Klavier had recognized her from the case, which pleased her. They sat together and Trucy took the time to entertain them, yet like all the others, Apollo had wandered in distractedly and Klavier was gone. Apollo had been reading a file in one hand and balancing his lovely coffee tray with the other when he was surprised by Klavier taking the tray and stealing a kiss. With a quick recovery, Apollo used the case file in his hand to playfully beat the blonde on the shoulder, scolding Klavier for making him jump as they arrived at his desk.

"You never told me your hubby was famous!" Athena accused with a smile, taking her respective iced coffee from the tray. Trucy also grabbed the only other.

"Not hubby-" Apollo attempted to interject while Klavier managed to scoop up the coffee Phoenix had been reaching for.

"Ja! Apollo and I are very happy to be married together!"

"We're not married yet." Apollo corrected, handing his own warm cup over to Phoenix with an apologetic smile.

"Polly, why do you keep pushing Klavier away like that, you guys are getting married soon!" Trucy tittered.

"No, keep pushing. It's healthy." Phoenix nursed the warm drink in his hand, slithering beside Apollo and partially between Klavier and Apollo.

"I do not mind the pushing, Fräulein Trucy." Klavier laughed, meeting eyes with Phoenix. "It makes the loving all the more worth it."

Athena '_oooh~_'d in instigation as Apollo flushed heavily.

"Klavier, don't say things like that!" Apollo chastised.

"Get out." Phoenix deadpanned.

With both being ignored, Trucy pulled Klavier and Athena back over to the couches to finish their introduction and to get some dirt on the soon to be newlyweds. After a few hours of friendly conversation and heavy onesided flirting, Klavier stole a generous amount of kisses from Apollo before leaving. Athena could've swore he floated out on a cloud of glitter and happiness as he wiggled his fingers goodbye at his fiancé. When Phoenix had left to complain at Apollo in his corner, Trucy had come up with a plan.

Athena thought it was the best plan ever.

The scene playing out in front of her right now was pure gold. She had to hold Trucy's hand and lean against Thalassa's arm as she held back her squealing.

Apollo sat at his desk; Klavier standing to his left and smiling, his arm securely around Apollo's shoulders, offhandedly warding off attempts at flirting. Phoenix stood to Apollo's right blatantly glaring at all of the 'suitors'. Machi stood grinning directly in front of the desk, his gaze hard stuck on Apollo. Wocky spoke animatedly about his activities passed throughout the day that hadn't had involved gang activity. Simon, though sat slightly distanced from the group, was clearly involved, as shown by how he managed to underhandedly degrade Wocky and erupt a giggled from Apollo, earning him a hoard of glares that didn't faze his triumphantly smug smirk.

"Apollo sure knows how to capture a heart." Thalassa commented, the look on her face proud.

"He steals those suckers like seagulls steal bread!" Trucy agreed. "Too bad he's too dense to realize it."

Athena hummed in agreement, sipping from her cup.

"With all that talk about justice, Apollo really is a common thief, huh?"

Then Wocky spilled his drink all over Machi 'by accident'.

* * *

**Author's Note:** **I had fun writing this chapter, though I think the way I rewrote it may have taken away from it a bit. Let me know if it's still good, because now that I'm looking at it, I think I messed up bad. I just don't want to risk erasing it. Please review. Don't hesitate to tell me about any mistakes I've made, or just say hi…**

**I'm lonely T~T… **

**Anyway! XD**

**Ja matane****!**


	3. Cheating

Phoenix was tired.

It was a little over an hour after evening report card conferences. The sun had just about set, and Phoenix didn't want to get up to turn on the lights, so it left him in semi-darkness as he drank his grape juice.

He was thinking. He didn't know what to do about the report card laying atop the coffee table in front of him, and he had been sitting here for a while. Trucy had left with Athena, Phoenix had sent them both away, only Athena confused as to why. He didn't care much for her questions, though. No, he was too busy trying to decide if he was angry, or just disappointed.

He had thought their agreement was clear. She goes to school and gets, at the _least_, Cs, and she could keep her freedom privileges. Thinking about it, he had been very late in pushing for her grades. Halfway through the marking period wasn't the best time to start scolding her about them, so it would be unfair to take everything away. From the other side, however, it had been _she_ who agreed to raise her grades, and it had also been she who neglected her work to the point of no return.

Even further into this conflict was the progress report. A copy sat beside the report card itself, proudly displaying a signature that wasn't his own, yet one that he recognized. Each of Trucy's teacher had been happy to tell him all about their meetings, though all of them had sent pretty much the same message.

"We had figured that after the meeting with her brother she would've picked up her slack."

Apollo and Trucy both hid the report from Phoenix.

He was very much heartbroken. He just couldn't decide which kind of heartbroken.

He wanted to flip the coffee table and rip up the reports in front of him, only that would get him nothing but a messy office and many confused employees. He also just wasn't that type of man.

He was definitely not angry.

Phoenix hummed and slumped in his spot, his bottle now forgotten on the floor by his feet. Now were the confrontations.

Does he do them together? They could very well get defensive about each other. Yet, Phoenix knows that if Apollo worked to hide it, he knew he didn't do something right. It would be Trucy that would try to find a way to defend both of them.

So he should confront them separately, but when? Now wasn't the time for Trucy, not after he had sent her out. Tomorrow would have to be it for her. Still, there was no proper time for Apollo. He could do so after the confrontation with Trucy tomorrow, though by then, he would probably already know that Trucy had been spoken to. After finding out about their relations as half-brother and sister, those two had been inseparable, and they shared everything with each other.

Any time later than tomorrow would just be out of place. It would be strange to just approach the younger attorney and demand to know the truth so late after the actual incident.

Then came the idea of not confronting him at all. Phoenix knows that Apollo only could've done something like this if he thought he was doing something justifiable. So Apollo meant no harm in helping his younger sister out. Nevertheless, he still had caused some harm, even if it was little. He doesn't want to say so, but Phoenix can't help but feel like part of his trust in Apollo had been broken. The confrontation was necessary, because without it, he'll forever be wondering if Apollo had done anything else behind his back.

Phoenix's mind was interrupted by the office door opening. He had locked it, sending the message that office hours were cancelled for the rest of the night. Only three others had the key to the place. He had sent Trucy and Athena out, and told them not to return until he had said it was fine, so the only other person it could have been was Apollo. Or a very confident thief.

"Klavier, can I get off the phone now? No, the office was closed, I'm assuming that Phoenix, Athena and Trucy are all asleep and I don't want to make too much noise when I'm only picking up the folders _you_ forgot."

Phoenix nodded to himself. It was Apollo, only one person could be whispering so forcefully.

"Alright. I'll be there in, at most, an hour. Okay, Klavier. _Okay_, jeez. Bye- I love you, too. Okay, bye."

"Apollo?" Phoenix called out, not turning to look at the lamp light radiating from the desk.

"Mr. Wright?" He heard Apollo gasp and in turn knock something over lightly. "You're up?"

"It's only eight thirty-two. Why would anyone be asleep by now?" Phoenix chuckled lightly.

"I dunno, maybe you guys were tired. Trucy told me last week that today was report card conferences."

Phoenix whirred, "Yeah, about that. Would you mind coming and taking a seat with me?"

"Uh, sure." Apollo appeared in his sights, sitting across from him. Apollo then took notice of Phoenix's appearance; slumped over and gloomy. "Are you okay, Mr. Wright?"

"Indeed. Just a little upset." He leaned forward to slide the report card across the coffee table, Apollo lifting it a scanning it over.

"She didn't do too well."

"No, she didn't. I'm not to sure how to approach her punishment."

Phoenix watched Apollo's reaction, glad he left his magatama in his office for once.

"I… don't know how to respond to that."

"Well, the thing is, she had gotten a warning in the middle of the marking period. Her teachers showed me a signed progress report."

"Oh. So you saw it."

Phoenix sighed, "Can you tell me why you lied to me?"

"Technically, I didn't lie." Phoenix clearly struck a sensitive chord in Apollo.

"You definitely didn't tell me the truth." He kept plucking.

Both went silent, Apollo lifting his thumb to his lips. Phoenix could hear the nervous clicking of of Apollo's nails snapping between his teeth.

"Don't bite your nails, Apollo. It's not good for your health." Phoenix couldn't help but chide.

Apollo immediately pulled his hand down, his voice a little guilty, "I had intended to tell you."

"Really?"

"Yes… you should've seen her, Phoenix. She was scared she was going to get in trouble- she even started crying!"

Phoenix understood all too well how that felt. Whenever Trucy's eyes would begin to water, Phoenix couldn't help but give in to her whims. Even if after a whole scene of crying, Trucy was just faking it.

"I understand. Just so long as you understand now that it was the wrong thing to do, taking my place in something as important as school."

"Mhm." Apollo nodded.

"Good."

It went silent for a few moments before Apollo spoke up, no longer sounding as ashamed as he did earlier.

"Phoenix." Phoenix raised an eyebrow, only just now realizing that he had been called 'Phoenix' and not 'Mr. Wright'. Was Apollo _finally_ comfortable with their relationship? "It may not be the case most of the time, but sometimes doing something wrong is just the right thing to do."

"I can agree with that- what's so funny?" Phoenix tilted his head at Apollo's tittering.

"Sometimes doing something wrong is the _right_ thing to do." Apollo stood. "Get it?"

Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "I get it. _Wright_ thing to do. It would be funnier if it actually fit into the situation."

"And who was it that forged evidence on my first case?" Apollo shook his head, placing both hands on his hips.

"Hold it!" Phoenix jumped up from his seat.

"Not so fast!" Apollo cut him off. "You know it was wrong to do so, correct?"

"Objection! Sure it was wrong to do so, but if I hadn't, we wouldn't have found the truth!"

"Hang on! I _got_ that completely, so do you see where I'm coming from now?"

Phoenix paused and thought for a moment before shaking his head no.

"If it hadn't had been for the fact that you had done something _wrong_, I wouldn't be here today, talking to you, and I would hope you consider my being here something good."

"Of course! You're one of the best lawyers I've got."

"I'm one of the only lawyers you've got." Apollo deadpanned, facepalming as he made his way over to his desk. There was a break of silence as Apollo slid colored folders into the bag that had been sitting on his desk chair and lifted it onto one shoulder.

"Basically, what I'm trying to say is, you got away with a crime. Right?"

Phoenix nodded, smiling sheepishly as he scratched at the back of his neck, "Yeah, I did, didn't I?"

"So don't be too hard on Trucy okay, Dad?"

Phoenix froze in place as Apollo left. He couldn't keep his face from splitting as he pulled his phone from his pocket, sending a quick text to Athena and Trucy, telling them that it was alright to return now.

"He called me 'Dad'."

The next day, Phoenix had been a truly happy camper.

He had smiled throughout the day, and had even woken up early to send Trucy off to school with a kiss to the forehead, leaving the teenage girl completely addled.

He had managed to get through loads of paperwork that he had been procrastinating on.

He had even gone out and bought his own coffee!

He had the office in whispers;

"Daddy's being weird, don'tcha guys think?"

"Polly, do you know what's wrong with him? Widget's detecting extreme happiness."

"I dunno, I walked in this morning and he was just… like _that_. It's really creeping me out."

The day had passed, though, and nothing had gone wrong, which everyone was thankful for. About when sunset had begun to make it's appearance Phoenix had ordered a 'family meeting' sitting all three of his office occupants in a row opposite of him. He laid the report card and progress report across the table for all eyes to see and addressed Trucy first.

"I'm going to assume that you understand why I've sat you here now." He began and she nodded as Athena lifted both sheets of paper and blinked her eyes down at them.

"These can't be mine, I graduated a long time ago. I'm not in trouble am I?"

"It says Trucy's name at the top." Apollo commented quietly and Athena 'oh'd in response.

"What's my sentence, Daddy?" Trucy pulled her hat from her head and wrung her hands together.

"I wouldn't say it's a sentence. I believe it to be pretty fair." Phoenix pulled a folded sheet of paper from his breast pocket and laid it beside the reports. "This is the register for summer school. You _will_ be going, but I will not take your magic away."

"Okay!" Trucy bobbed her head brightly.

"I'm letting you keep it so you can pay your own summer school fee. Also, for the remaining quarter of the school year you will complete your homework and report it to me and if I am indefintely not around, Apollo. I won't have you failing this marking period too, you've already got second and third under your hat. Got it?"

"Yes, Daddy!"

"And Trucy?"

"Yes, Daddy?"

"Please never hide your grades from me, again. I'm going to give you a second chance, but you almost lost my trust. I don't want to have to take that from you."

Trucy nodded. "I promise."

"Good." Phoenix turned to Apollo. "And you."

Apollo sat straight, prepared for the worst.

"Thank you for telling me the truth. Don't do it again."

Apollo released the breath he had been holding. "Got it. Thank you, Mr. Wright."

"Good. This meeting is now over-"

"W-Wait a minute!" Trucy called, flustered. "Why isn't he getting punished? He helped me hide the report."

"He didn't flunk his classes two straight marking periods in a row."

Trucy only pouted, folding up all three sheets of paper and placing them within her hat. She mumbled on her way back to her room leaving Athena, Apollo and Phoenix.

"Oh, man. I don't know how to handle this situation." Athena breathed, placing a hand on her chest.

"Handle the situation? What exactly would you be trying to handle?" Apollo snarked, loosening his tie.

"Everybody's feelings were running a little rampant there. Lot's of panic. She also totally just tried to throw you under the bus and it doesn't seem like you're reacting at all to it." Athena gave Apollo an incredulous look. "I don't feel it from you, but aren't you the least bit offended?"

"Not really." Apollo shrugged. "I could say I'm just as surprised as her. I have no idea why I wasn't given some type of punishment."

"So, Mr. Wright. Why _didn't_ you punish Apollo?" Athena spun toward Phoenix.

Love Love Guilty began to blast from across the room and Apollo stood, exasperated, "I have to get that. Give me a minute."

Phoenix and Athena watched as he lifted his phone from his desk and made his way outside of the office.

"Your reason is?" Athena pushed.

Phoenix smiled, "Last night, he called me 'Dad'."

"That's it?" Athena blinked.

Phoenix nodded.

"But Trucy calls you 'Daddy' all the time!" She protested.

"He finally acknowledges me as a father figure in his life, Athena!" He ignored her dispute. "I'm finally, 'Dad'!"

"But he just called you Mr. Wright-"

"Nope, irrelevant."

"Wait just a minute-"

"Overruled, your arguement is invalid." Phoenix was quick to make his way to his office.

"Mr. Wright-"

"Can't hear you~!" The door closed.

He sat in his chair and leaned back, arms behind his head, feet up on his desk. He ignored Athena's calling out to him from beyond his door and beamed.

"He called me 'Dad'."

* * *

**Author's Note:** **I feel like I messed up really bad in this chapter. I couldn't figure out a way for Apollo to cheat without exploiting my 'Phoenix has a father complex over Apollo' headcanon. And then I made them go completely out of character. And then my writing went to hell and I feel like rewriting it all over again. But I shall post it like this and see how people react to it.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed it, and if you didn't, tell me and I will try to rewrite it, or just scrap this idea entirely and cry in a corner until I come up with something better… XD**

_**Next Story - 'The Fan Club'**_**: It stems from chapter two of this story where each fan club member gets a chapter with their thoughts and or a moment with Apollo. I'm going to be adding other members than the ones mentioned though (Juniper, Vera, Plum and Winfred, etc.), so if you think someone would be in Apollo's fanclub, feel free to leave a review telling me their name and a reason why (I might just have them planned already). If you don't leave a reason, I'll just make up my own.**

**Oh jeez, this Author's Note is long, sorry about that ('^.^)**

**I know some people don't like long Author's Notes. I'll just end it here… **

**Ja matane!**


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